US chemist chain Walgreen eyes listing on the London Stock Exchange next year

Walgreen, the largest chain of chemist stores in the US, is embarking on a roadshow to try to attract UK investors with an eye to a listing on the London Stock Exchange next year.

The company is keen to establish a dual listing in the UK and the US, following its purchase of a 45 per cent stake in British High Street stalwart Alliance Boots last year.

Sources say the company had initially hoped to list its shares this year, but decided to wait and embark on a charm offensive to attract more shareholders first. Playing host to Walgreen, which has a market value of $39bn (£24bn) would be a major coup for the LSE, as it is a well-known brand name in the US, where standards of governance and accounting are among the strictest in the world.

Charm offensive: Walgreen is hoping to attract more shareholders before listing in London

A number of overseas companies that
have sought a City listing in recent years have been from former Soviet
states and their corporate governance has come under question.
Walgreen’s purchase of the stake in Boots for £4.2bn last summer created
a health and beauty giant with more than 11,000 stores.

It
plans to buy the remaining 55 per cent of the old Boots the Chemist for
an additional £6bn within the next two and a half years.

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The pair are currently running a joint venture, based in Berne, Switzerland.

A
Walgreen listing would mean a return to the stock market for Boots,
which left the public share markets in 2007 when it was bought in a
controversial and debt-laden £12.2bn deal by Italian billionaire Stefano
Pessina backed by private equity firm KKR.

The Boots merger is part of a strategy by Walgreen to expand internationally.

Monaco-based
Pessina had coveted a tie with a US company for some time, and is keen
that the link-up will pave the way for deals in China and Latin America.

Walgreen,
which took on Boots’ debt – which stood at £7bn last spring – has seen
its shares rise 25 per cent in the past 12 months on the US markets.